Crude oil is a popular source of energy for vehicles such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, and airplanes. There are various other uses for crude oil and products refined therefrom.
Typically, the crude oil is obtained from a well that is drilled beneath a surface of the ground. In addition to the wells being drilled into the ground on one of the continents, it has also been recognized that wells can be drilled into the ground located beneath bodies of water.
It is generally desired to collect substantially all of the crude oil that is extracted from a well to maximize the income generated from the well and to minimize the negative effects that are experienced when the oil escapes into the region surrounding the well.
While oil drilling technology enables drilling wells into very deep bodies of water such as having a depth of greater than about 5,000 feet, it becomes increasingly difficult to address issues that may develop at these depths. For example, it is generally not possible for humans to perform directly tasks at these depths. Rather, the immense pressures at these depths necessitate that the work be done using robotically controlled devices.
Even in situations where safety devices such as blowout preventers are utilized to address problems that may arise when drilling wells at these depths, it is possible that the safety devices may malfunction and that the crude oil may escape from the well and become intermixed with the body of water in which the well is located.
The presence of the crude oil in the water can be a health hazard to organisms that live in the body of water not only causing death to the organisms but also precluding the use of the organisms as a food source. The crude oil can also contaminate that shore that surrounds the body of water and thereby preclude the use of the shore for recreational activities.
In view of the hazards associated with crude oil escaping into a body of water, it is desirable to utilize a system that provides the ability to contain the crude oil that escapes during the drilling process such that the escaped crude oil may be recovered.
Most past efforts and equipment designed for these purposes were based upon the principle that you needed a large heavy mass (i.e., a 100-ton concrete dome) to capture the oil and withstand the pressure at more than 5,000 feet below sea level. It has also been attempted to utilize methods that work above sea level. However, such methods do not consistently work below sea level because of the pressures that exist at those depths.